For humans\, is color based solely on its wavelength? If it
were\, our visual world would be a mash-up of constantly shifting colors as
the light reflected back to our eyes shifted wavelength over the course of
the day. Your car would be one color in the morning light\, and a differen
t one in the afternoon—not to mention what color it would be under the fluo
rescent showroom lights of an auto dealership…way too much information.

So how do we do it? How do we create a stable color world when t
he wavelengths coming off objects fluctuate wildly? In this talk and demons
tration\, Atherton will present some answers to these questions. On the way
\, he will take a look at artists who have understood the power of color\,
applied with an eye towards perception rather than wavelength.

Jeff Atherton is Assistant Professor in the Foundation Program at the CSULB School of
Art. He specializes in two-dimensional composition and color theory. Hi
s interest in color perception received a jumpstart in 2002 when he was ask
ed to demonstrate the relationship between color and light to a group of Ge
rman national merit students. Since then\, Atherton has been at work on rel
ating current theories of human perception to an applied color theory for a
rtists.